Operation Rose

Operation Rose (18 July-11 August 1950) was the codename given to France's aerial intervention in the Korean War on the side of the United Nations coalition. The French Air Force attacked North Korean fighters to slow their advance towards the Pusan Perimeter, and the bombing campaign ended after the battered French squadron of C-47 Skytrains withdrew from the Korean Peninsula due to heavy losses.

Background
On 25 June 1950, North Korea launched a massive surprise offensive against South Korea on the divided Korean Peninsula, leading to the United States and South Korea fighting a defensive war against the Soviet-backed North Koreans. The United Nations formed a large coalition to assist the South Koreans and Americans in fighting off the North Koreans, and France committed a fighter squadron of C-47 Skytrains to assist the UN coalition. The French planes were based out of Kimhae airbase to the northwest of Pusan, and the French squadron would move north to other airbases to fight against the North Koreans.

Operation
The Skytrain squadron began its role in the operation by fighting against three squadrons of North Korean planes over Suwon just 20 miles to the south of the occupied South Korean capital of Seoul, and the French suffered heavy losses while fighting against numerically-superior North Korean planes. The French were able to tie down North Korean planes that would otherwise be supporting the North Korean advance towards Pusan, and the French wished to send two more bomber squadrons to support the South Koreans. However, the bombers were medium-range bombers, and they could not make it to South Korea from the British airbase at Hong Kong. Both Taiwan and Japan refused to give the French air transit, so the French bombers were forced to turn back before passing the Strait of Taiwan. As a result, the withdrawal of the French squadron on 11 August ended the operation, having done some damage to the North Korean forces.